KSC-2010-2147

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The base of the United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket carrying NASA's GOES-P meteorological satellite is engulfed in a brilliant exhaust cloud as it lifts off Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 6:57 p.m. EST. GOES-P, the latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, was developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. The GOES-P spacecraft will be placed in a 22,300-mile-high geosynchronous orbit where it will appear to hover over a single point on Earth. The spacecraft is outfitted with a complex suite of observation instruments and cameras so it can accurately report on weather and climate conditions on Earth. For information on GOES-P, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_GOES-P_main_index.html. Photo credit: NASA_Sandra Joseph and Tony Gray